


The magic of fusion

by NoWaifuNoLaifu



Category: Senyuu. (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Eventual Smut, Fusion, Haruhara threw Albatross to my face what did you expect, Literal Albatross, M/M, Magical Shenanigans, One Shot, soul bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-17
Updated: 2020-06-17
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:08:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24779653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoWaifuNoLaifu/pseuds/NoWaifuNoLaifu
Summary: Finding the ideal partner is not an easy task.
Relationships: Alba Frühling & Ross | Creasion, Alba Frühling/Ross | Creasion
Comments: 8
Kudos: 27





	The magic of fusion

Rolling over the dirt, Alba tried his best to hold on to a patch of grass to slow down his momentum to no avail. The kick he had received was as powerful as he had expected it.

Ross was not too far away, and he looked as if he took most part of the damage. With one thumb he flicked away a clog of blood-forming under his lip.

_He looked royally pissed._

-"Focus, Hero!"- he shouted without losing sight of their target- "If we keep going like this then we are never beating Samejima and Janua!"-

In front of them, a tall red-haired man with crossed arms over his chest waited patiently for their next move. 

His only visible eye was red and had a strange half-moon-shaped beauty mark under it. The white-collar of his shirt and black suit was flapping around his strong build, making him look both manly and dangerous.

Ever since they heard from Salt and Lake that both the ninja and his friend could make use of soul fusion magic they had been eager to learn how to accomplish it. 

The item they wore, the soul belt, guaranteed a favorable execution, however, the penalty of having to wait twenty years to use it again was rather disappointing. Ross had suggested avidly to study this phenomena and develop a spell that could emulate the results. And so a new research started on the subject.

In paper everything seemed to make sense, it was just a matter of concentration and keeping matching mana wavelengths. The requirements were simple enough. Two healthy bodies that had high compatibility. Piece of cake.

The reality, was of course, much different. 

-"I know! I'm trying!"- standing up and dusting himself off, the brunette extended a gloved hand to the ex-soldier -"Let's go again!"-

Ross quickly made a run for it and grabbed him by the wrist, pulling Alba closer and messing up his footing. The smaller of the two winced but still managed to keep up with his rough movements.

-"Soul fusion!"- they both yelled at the same time, conjuring a blast of light beneath their feet.

In a few seconds, the dust around them dissipated, revealing a tall, lean boy with wild black ink hair and bi-colored eyes. Usually, he would be smirking or grinning but he looked as if he were in pain. 

-"It burns...!"- the fusion muttered to himself as he clenched a fistful of his black shirt. Januajima stared at them with a frown. 

_The side of him made from Ross got angry. Why were they looking down on them? The magic wielded by the Hero and him was far more powerful._

_They could easily win a hand to hand combat too if they went all out._

-"Get a hold of yourself, Albatross… we can do it!"- he encouraged himself. Gritting his teeth he stood up straight and adopted a fighting stance. 

His muscles felt like lead, barely responding to what he wanted to do. He could feel the two souls inside him making their own plans to seize the situation. 

One wanted to use their fists to settle this as quickly as possible. The other one wanted to find a weak point by tiring Januajima out. Both sounded good to Albatross, but he couldn't decide which one was the right option. 

-"Don't take your eyes off me, man!"- he heard the other fusion call out just as he saw them leaping mid-air with a fist ready to land on his face. They had to move!

His shared brain panicked, and in the end, he tried dodging too little too late. The brute force which impacted his cheek sent him flying towards the nearest rock, smashing it in half and doing nothing to break the impact. 

Albatross landed a couple of feet away before he could somewhat recover and lift half of his body with his forearms, face inches away from facing the soft soil.

-"Stand up!"- he commanded to himself -"This is not over yet!"-

-"You are pushing it."- the other male said, walking towards him with a stand that reeked confidence. Like a lion, pitying a mouse on the verge of death -"If you keep going you will fall apart. You both aren't ready to master this spell yet. This is the fourth time you try fusing."- 

-"I won't give up."- he replied back as he stood up again. His arms dangled around his body as he did so, but as soon as he had both feet secured on the ground he launched himself to Januajima with mana infused fists -"I will overcome any obstacle in our way because that's the reason I was born for!"-

-"Admirable determination."- the red-haired conceded with a smile, catching effortlessly his attack and twisting their wrists to make them kneel down -"But that's not enough to beat us."- he finished off by kicking them straight on the solar plexus.

Albatross coughed some spit and blood but still kept his head high. Like hell he was going to faint like this. His red eye flared with anger -”You are starting to piss me off.”- he hissed.

-"You should stop before you hurt yourself, man."- the other one said, the heel of his foot still planted on the raven's chest. He was still keeping them on a submissive position but Albatross headbutted him right in the stomach to set himself free.

-"Hmph."- Januajima hopped back and patted his abdominal area with an arched brow -"You have spirit, I'll give you that."- the Hero-Soldier fusion huffed before attempting to stand up again. 

**He couldn't**.

His left side, Alba's side, wanted to stand back and tend to his superficial wounds first. Moving with potentially cracked bones on his ribcage was certainly a bad idea, but if they did that...then it would be cheating.

_He had more mana than the other male, he should exploit all his advantages!_

_But it was a friendly match, what was the point in using healing spells if what they needed to improve were endurance and equilibrium?_

The turmoil going on inside his head was driving him crazy. Why couldn't they agree on one thing at the time?! Who cared if it was fair or not. Winning was not the goal, it was proving themselves a worthy opponent, was it not?

-"You are looking pale there, man."- Januajima placed his hands inside his pockets -"We should end this while you are still conscious, Albatross."-

-"I'm...okay!"- he panted out. Using his right leg to push up his whole body, he managed to somewhat keep himself steady 

-"Come at me!"- his hair was slowly losing its deep ebony color and was being replaced by golden brown, his hands were shaky and even breathing alone was taking a tremendous amount of effort. 

**He was truly coming apart**.

For a moment, there was a flash of some unknown emotion on the other fusion's eyes. But it was gone as soon as he squatted down to get some extra impulse. His voice was cold as ice. 

-"I’ll put you out of your misery then."-

At an insane speed, he was already by Albatross' side with his right foot aiming directly for his head. The bastard was keeping his hands out of the match.

_Were they doing so bad their contender felt the need to hold himself back? Unacceptable._

Using his forearm to parry the hit, Albatross felt a gust of wind blowing his bangs away. The impact made his whole body tremble but he managed to stand his ground. He then dug his fingers on Januajima's leg to keep them steady and with his free hand aimed for the knee juncture.

However, he halted a few inches before hitting his target. The Hero inside him didn't want to hurt them permanently, it wasn't supposed to be like this. 

-"Fight with resolution or don't fight at all!"- he was scolded by the other fusion, and before he could put any of his defenses up, Albatross was greeted with a swift kick on the face.

 **Letting go of the ninja-scholar amalgamation was a big mistake**.

He kept high kicking him with no mercy, hit after hit until the raven couldn’t stand anymore. Even when they struck the ground backwards with a heavy thud, Januajima was relentless. 

The gravel around their bodies was shaking, the soil had given in beneath them, forming a crater that was increasing its size after each blow. 

-"Ack!"- trying to grasp for air, the ravenette opened out his mouth. All he needed was a few seconds of oxygen to cast a spell out loud since his concentration was all over the place. 

_If only they had the mana maker, Ross could have compensated, but it was impossible right now._

-”Burn bright!”- he finally croaked out, forming a messy orb of exploding light that blinded the other male enough for Albatross to uppercut him with the heel of his boots. Somehow, the hit managed to land and forced him to back off.

As the Hero-Soldier fusion wheezed and crawled outside the hole he was shoved into, his opponent waited patiently for him to reach the surface.

-"You are too slow."- cocking his head to the side, he added -"You are not using offensive magic, I thought you had more mana than Janua."-

-"SHUT UP!"- coughing some dirt, Albatross slammed his right fist in frustration -"We are not weak!"- using this outburst to pump himself up, he leaped straight for the man’s throat with his left hand.

-"No one said you were."- blocking the hook that aimed for his chin, he took advantage of the exposed extremity to pin it with a judo lock. Applying more force would surely break his bones -"Your emotions are leaking and making you unstable."-

-”Don’t touch me!”- it was uncharacteristic of him to freak out over something so small, but there was something deep within him that absolutely didn’t want anyone to touch that part of his body. 

His bi-colored eyes went wide, and Januajima slightly flinched. 

**He looked almost feral.**

Using his right elbow, the ravenette swiftly connected with the other’s nose. There was a surprised gurgle, and as soon as Albatross felt him loosen his grip he took a few jumps back to distance himself. Albatross then patted his left shoulder a few times, making sure everything was still in its proper place.

-”You are truly something else, you know that?“- the red-haired fusion grinned as he spat some blood out -"That wild side. Show me more of it, man."-

Once more they clashed, but Januajima was still concealing his hands. Even with him only using his legs, he was fearsome. There was no magic on his attacks, which only frustrated the ravenette even further.

Blocking was starting to become useless, stalling wasn't making his opponent tired. The bruises forming on Albatross' forearms after using them as a shield so often was making him wince. 

**Pain was something he wasn't used to feeling**.

-"There's a fire burning inside you, Albatross."- the red-haired man said in between his deadly blows -"I can see it. I can feel it. Your skill, your brute strength, you are formidable."-

Reeling his right knee back, Januajima glared at him.

-"But you have one big flaw."-

-"Gah!"- the hit made his body lurch forward, all air escaping his lungs. He twitched uselessly, no longer able to hold his own weight. 

Januajima, now supporting him with his ankle, pushed him effortlessly to the ground. Albatross wheezed and hacked, his throat burning after gulping mouthfuls of oxygen. He had been on the verge of blacking out.

The other fusion said pointed at his own chest with a thumb -"You have no harmony inside, just two people fighting over control. Your bond is not strong enough."-

-"Don't underestimate me!"- he practically screamed back -"I can still fight, I can still-!"-

Before they could finish their sentence, Januajima lifted his foot and aimed to stomp over his left shoulder. The raven's right hand immediately blocked it, his fingers gripping the sole of his flats tightly.

-"It's over."-

His foot began to shine with a bright aura.

Albatross’ eyes grew bigger and before he could land his final blow he rolled to the side and instead exposed his back. The hit finally came and with one last painful scream, he poofed away. 

Immediately, Alba’s body was rejected and rolled a couple of meters away. It took the brunette a few seconds before he could comprehend what just happened, his eyes snapping wide open. 

**_Where was Ross?_ **

Sitting up, he scanned his surroundings. 

The field was quite messy, with big chunks of grass missing and several boulders broken in asymmetrical pieces. When he finally spotted his partner, he had his back was underneath Januajima’s heel, while his arms protected the rest of his upper body.

Ross was _so going to kill him_ after this.

-"Ross!"- Alba scrambled to reach him, and he was midway when he was halted by Ross' hand.

-"Calm down, Hero. I’m fine."- swatting the fusion’s feet away with an annoyed look on his face, the young adult clicked his tongue -”You win, fair and square. I don't think we can beat you as we are right now."- 

Nodding in satisfaction, Januajima closed his eyes and after a flash of light and smoke he was gone. Instead, two people were standing in his place.

-"I hope you are okay, Alba-kun."- Janua said with a gentle, yet concerned tone as he trotted to meet the Hero halfway -"You told us to go all out but… I really didn't want to hurt you, degozaru."-

-"It's quite alright, the point of this spar was to test the limits of the spell anyways…"- he briefly glanced at his partner, who was silently staring at the ground.

-"I saw what you did there, slant eyes."- Samejima interjected, talking directly to Ross -"You took most of the damage at the last second by releasing the hold on the fusion. Why."-

-"Don't know what you are talking about."-

-"Pipsqueak over there is left-handed, isn't he?"- the red-haired man said, pointing at Alba with his head -"I'm pretty sure all the blocks came mostly from you."-

The ex-soldier glared at him, not really with bad intentions, but it was clear his observation didn't amuse him.

-"Ross!"- the brunette called out stomping his way towards him, disbelief shining on his chocolate eyes as he knelt by his side -"Why would you do that?! I could have-!”-

-"Shut your mouth for a second."- he interrupted him by placing a hand over his lips. Alba wanted to argue, to hear him explain what was this nonsense about, but he knew better than push him to talk when he was in such an awful mood. 

The murderous glare he gave him was a clear sign that it would be best to just obey.

-"For now I think we should stick to training and revising notes. It's clear we have yet to perfect this technique, Hero."-

-”Do we really need to?”- he said, prying himself free from his grasp -“We are at peace right now, and you are also learning how to fight with no mana in your body...maybe we should just-”-

-"Fusion could come handy in the future."- Ross cut him off, standing up with some difficulty -”Weren’t you the one who swore to bring a happy ending to every single existing timeline?”-

Alba flinched at his words. The ravenette rarely brought that topic out, and whenever he did it was because either he meant business or if he had legitimate worries about the balance of peace. 

It was hard to refute him, so he only lowered his head and swallowed down the words he wanted to say.

-"Fine. Let's go back to the lab and analyze the data we have as of now."- he agreed -"But we need to tend your wounds first! Let me heal you."- rising both of his gloved hands, Alba casted a soft white orb ready to get to work.

-"This?"- Ross said nonchalantly as he stuffed his fists inside his pockets, walking towards the castle -"This is nothing. You worry way too much, Hero.”-

-”Come on, don’t be like that!”- Alba said, quickly catching up to him and tugging at one corner of his black jumper - “It will only be a second! Let me see!"-

-”I don't want your filthy ex-convict hands running all over my skin."- he said with a sneer, never slowing down his pace -"You want to undress me so badly?"-

-"DON'T BRING UP STUFF FROM THE PAST SO CASUALLY, DAMMIT!”- he said, still chasing him down -"And I didn't ask you to undress, you perv!"-

-”Guess you can’t really help your urges, can you? So disgusting."- 

-"DON'T JUST IGNORE ALL I SAID!"-

As the pair walked off, still bickering with each other, Janua couldn't help to sigh. How in the world they ended up being the saviors of both demon and humankind was still a mystery to him.

He noticed Ross occasionally shoving Alba away, however, the brunette would always go back to him. Fuming and complaining, but it seemed impossible for the ex legendary hero to shake him off entirely.

The ninja wanted to join in too since it looked like fun.

-"Hold on, Janua."- the man beside him said, placing a hand over his shoulder -"Let them do their own thing. I get the feeling they need some time to figure things out. Especially slant eyes."-

* * *

-"Good afternoon, Hero. Any luck yet?"- Ross asked as he slid the door of their office open. Tucked under his arm, he was carrying an old grimoire. 

The room itself had barely any furniture, with just a bunch of desks stacked with piles of papers, files, and the occasional forgotten mug. Otherwise, it was a blank space, akin to the Dimensional Rift. When Ross got hired as a part-timer he decided to move his computer right into the Hero’s space so he could pester him more comfortably.

Lying on the only couch available was Alba, with a heavy-looking book over his face. He groaned once.

-”That’s not a cute sound at all.”- he deadpanned -”Well, I have some news for you, so you better wipe that drool and listen carefully, Hero."-

-"I'm not drooling!"- the teen said sitting up quickly, letting the book drop into his lap. His fingers flew to the corner of his lips anyways, double-checking in case the statement of the ex-Soldier was true -”What did you find?”-

-”First things first.”- he said approaching the brunette -”Did you manage to translate the notes I dropped off yesterday?”-

-"You know my rune reading is not that good… but yeah, I did.”- Alba replied reaching out towards the small coffee table in front of him. He picked a couple of messy sheets from under several other packets 

-”Whoever was the author of the soul belt didn't leave much information behind...no one knows what is it made of or who invented it. This is basically a manual on how to use it and charge it. And we already knew that."- rubbing the bridge of his nose, he sighed -"Another dead end."-

-"The seller had no interesting intel either."- Ross said as he dropped himself on a nearby chair -”This thing is either too old for people to remember how it originated or some loser just got lucky when messing around with soul magic.”-

They shared a few seconds of comfortable silence.

-"So.”- Ross finally said -”Instead of bashing our heads trying to figure the components of the belt, I started looking into ways of making _us_ more compatible."-

Alba eyed at him carefully, scooting away from his friend -"Does it involve knocking me out or hurting me physically in any way?"-

-”You’ve learned.”-

-”It’s been over five years, of course I would ask first before accepting anything that comes from you!”- the brunette said cutting the air with a chop to emphasize his words -”All your suggestions end up with me in a lot of pain, you know?!”-

-”So noisy.”- throwing the grimoire he brought along with him towards Alba’s chest, he continued -"Remember this, Hero? It's the book I told you to memorize for your first written exam."-

-"The basics of mana and how to make the most out of it."- Alba said immediately as he thumbed absentmindedly through some of the old pages -"Yes, how could I forget when you _literally_ drilled it into my head."- that last part he said with a grimace.

-"Ah yes, good old times when the Hero was nothing but a pathetic bug."-

-"Don't get sparkly eyes after saying something so mean!"-

-”Seriously though, I think the most simple methods could be the answer to our problems.”- Ross’ slender finger tapped his own thigh -"Chapter twenty-three, paragraph five, Hero."-

-”Natural elements are the best channel for magic because of how adaptable they are. The least resistant and pliable the mass, the easier it becomes to resonate with it. "- the other male recited, looking straight into Ross’ eyes. 

**The raven smirked.**

"What does this have to do with..?”- raising a brow in confusion, Alba slowly placed all the pieces together and his eyes grew wider in understanding.

-”Ah, I see. You want to amplify the effects of the spell by using one them as a buffer to make our mana wavelengths easier to reach each other.”- supporting his elbows over his knees, he kept elaborating.

-”It would be like using training wheels to even our mana input...only in this case we would actually have a reference point to how the resonance should be like, instead of trying to guess it whenever we fuse.”-

-”Spot on. 90 points.”- he praised with sarcasm rolling out of his tongue. The little grin on his lips, however, showed he was actually pleased with his reply.

-”If I’m following up this correctly… you are suggesting training by using either fire, earth, wind, or water.”-

-”Stating the obvious at this point, but yes.”- 

-”Then… water would be the best option for our human bodies. It’s easier to manipulate too, we could even do that here on the lab with a small pool or a tub. The basic requirement is to be in superficial contact with it, so at the very least we would have to dip our feet on it to work... ”- Alba mumbled to himself. 

Ross’ knuckles tapped his forehead to pull him out of his trance before he started getting too carried away. talking to himself was a bad habit Alba had developed ever since he became the Head of the Research Center. 

-"Yes, I agree. Water should be the best choice.”- then, he casually added -“I _did_ improve my mana flux by sitting under a cascade and fighting hypothermia. Would you like to try that, Hero?"-

-"The training of a thousand years in the past is scary!”- 

-"Then how about this."- pulling out of his pant pocket a colorful pamphlet, the ravenette smoothed it out so they could both read it 

-”The Demon Ryokan is looking for visitors to reactivate the economy around the area. They have natural thermal waters and all sorts of pools out in the open. It would give us plenty of space to work without worrying about casualties.”-

-”I don’t know, Ross…”- rubbing his neck, Alba tried to focus his attention elsewhere -”We could just postpone the whole thing until we get vacation days. Is not like this investigation has priority over helping the other timelines, and besides leaving the Research Center to Elf-kun and Alf-kun it’s a bit…”-

-”Ah, they also have a free buffet.”- the other male added, pointing the bottom of the pamphlet.

-”I’ll call Ruki right away!”- 

-”Is that so?”- he said with a smug smile -”My, my, Hero. Ditching your responsibilities for some free food. You really can’t go lower than this.”-

-”Shut up! You were the one who suggested it first, so don’t blame it on me!”- patting his body, he finally found what he was looking for, a small white whistle - "Besides, we should try your theory, I think it could actually work!"-

* * *

-"This is definitely not going to work."-

-"Where did all that passion go, Hero?"- Ross said with a bored expression -"Honestly being so wishy-washy isn't good for you."-

-”This is not what I thought it would be, okay?!”- trying to cover his face, he let out a muffled groan -“This is really embarrassing!”-

-"We’ve been over this, Hero. It's merely a way to improve the fusion spell."-

-"I know!"- peeking in between his fingers, Ross could tell Alba was blushing all the way up to the tip of his ears -"I just don't understand why do we have to be...you know! Like this!"-

They were in the middle of a big rock formation surrounded by colorful foliage and mountains, a pool of hot water with soft green hues right at Alba’s feet. Ross had already made himself comfortable and was paddling around carelessly. 

Because it was a traditional place, things like swimwear weren’t allowed, so they had to get in stark naked. The worst part was that this specific way of training required skin to skin contact, which only made Alba regret his decision even more. It was _bad enough_ he was wearing nothing but a flimsy towel to keep his modesty safe.

The ravenette didn’t even blink when the time came to undress but of course, Alba was having a hard time trying to assimilate that he was going to be essentially bathing with his best friend out in the open with no barrier in between them whatsoever. 

-"Are you a virgin who can't handle a little bit of skin touching?"- leaning onto a nearby rock formation with both of his forearms dangling, Ross mocked him -"You won't pop your cherry if you go on living like this, you know?"-

-"SHUT UP!"- after a few more moments of pacing around, he finally grumbled as he undid the knot on his waist -"Whatever… we are already like this… might as well go through with it…"-

-"...pervert."- Ross said with a disgusted expression.

-"WHY ME?! YOU WERE THE ONE WHO WALKED IN NAKED FIRST!!"-

-"And despite your protests, you keep on taking your towel off...scum."-

-"That's it. I'm out."- Alba said turning around -”I’ll find another way to make this work on my own!”-

Before he could get away from the hot spring though, Ross managed to catch one of the corners of his towel -”Come on, I’m just joking. If it makes you feel better I won’t look.”- playfully tugging, he ended up loosening the piece of cloth entirely, revealing Alba’s bottom straight in front of his face.

-”Ah.”-

The blush in Alba’s face rose up so quickly, literal steam poofed out of him. 

-”Hahaha.”- Ross laughed with a monotonous voice as he swam away -”Hero’s _hero_ is funny looking. Hahaha.”-

-”I’M GOING TO KILL YOU, YOU BASTARD!”-

* * *

-”You are a brute.”- Alba complained, nursing a nasty bump in the middle of his forehead.

-”And you are too noisy.”- his friend said nonchalantly.

-”You didn’t have to hit me with a rock!”- the brunette whined, “I could have gotten a contusion or worse!”-

-”Yeah… you are right….”- putting a teary-eyed face, he made a dramatic flip of hair -”I should have been more considerate… you only have two working brain cells after all!”-

-”RUDE.”-

In the end, as per Alba’s request, swimsuits were crafted with his magic in a vain attempt to preserve some of his non-existent dignity.

-”Somehow… I feel as if someone just said something really mean towards me.”- the brunette mumbled narrowing his eyes.

-”Enough with the jokes, we are wasting time here.” - Ross said, getting closer to him -”Are you ready to begin, Hero?”-

Alba nodded, and at the same time, they both placed their hands on top of each other. It was almost automatic, as they already had done this several times before.

-”Soul fusion.”- they chanted together.

This time, their bodies turned into pure light and slowly merged one with the other. The process was less flashy, but it was powerful enough to briefly make the steady flow of water back away, revealing all the shiny polished volcanic stones at the bottom.

Once fully formed, Albatross looked down onto his hands and clenched his fingers together a couple of times before inspecting his surroundings. All of his upper body was bare, and he could feel the chilly drafts making his skin crawl. Dipping himself until the water reached his shoulders he inhaled a couple lungfuls of fresh air.

**He needed to concentrate.**

Inside of his mindscape existed a white space with both heroes facing each other. They were wearing their usual clothes, but there was a strange outline to them. Alba’s was red, whereas Ross’ was blue. 

Beneath them, the surface where they stood had a transparent jelly-like consistency. It felt stable enough, but it could also easily give in and make them both fall.

-"This particular training requires a sound mind and body to work. If you put up a fuss it could backfire."- Ross said with a serious tone. The grip on Alba's wrists tightened ever so slightly -”Water is an element of double edge, remember that, Hero.”-

He was right. Both of them were fully exposed, which meant that they had no layers of protection if anything went wrong. The fact that Ross trusted his recently gained mana control like this was both a matter of pride and worry. 

Alba took a deep breath to calm himself down. 

If he got them injured for something so silly as holding hands then he was not fit to be the holder of the “Hero” title -"...I understand. I'll do my best."-

-”I don’t expect less.”- 

Relaxing his shoulders, Alba slowly closed his eyes and began to let his mana flow outside his body. 

A soft red aura enveloped him entirely in a matter of seconds, his front bangs began to curl, bouncing up and down. Ross kept checking on him at the same time he released his own energy, an azure swirl flowing from the center of his chest to his hands.

-”That’s it, Hero.”- the raven said as he entwined their fingers together -”Just like that.”-

The Hero knew Ross wasn’t the touchy type of person, heck, he highly doubted the other male knew the difference in between smashing a fist into someone’s face and a proper greeting. But, for some unknown reason, he seemed to be plenty comfortable going into his personal space like this? 

**His heartbeat began to quicken.**

Alba tried to focus on his mana flow and avoid the feelings that menaced to reach the surface. He had to remind himself this was only training, there was no special hidden meaning. Accepting Ross’ wavelength, there was only one way he could describe it.

**Cold, abrasive, ruthless, yet kindness shined through.**

The faded remains of bitterness and distrust had left a deep mark even on his magic. The youngest of the two couldn’t help but trying to pour more of himself into him in an attempt to try and fill in those gaps. 

He wanted so badly to make those cracks go away.

The ex-legendary hero could sense how he was slowly being overpowered by this intense sentiment of protectiveness. There was devotion in there too, mixed with admiration and respect. Alba’s feelings, as always, were fairly easy to read. He was nothing but shamelessly honest, even in moments like this. 

**It was warm, compassionate, infinitely courageous, yet so utterly lonely.**

Those traits were far from he had initially anticipated the first time they met, all the way back when they found each other on Port City. Granted, he was still a bit spoiled and immature, but he had what it took to fight for what was right. 

Ross reached out and embraced it all.

Following the plan, Alba reduced the amount of energy he had stored, and instead replicated Ross’. It was much less than what the brunette wielded, however the true power his friend had within didn’t rely on magic alone. There was an incredible amount of experience backing him up.

 **They could see it**.

The years he spent around earth roaming as Creassion shaped him into who he was now. After several battles against demons and monsters, his muscles had developed a memory of their own, and now Alba could access to it all. 

Sadly, he didn’t have much to offer on this particular field, but even so, he revealed to him the hardships he endured the year the Soldier was gone.

Alba had faced several enemies both in his quest to become stronger and protecting Ruki. Broken bones and blistered skin was a low price if the goal was getting back Ross’ smile.

A pang of guilt shot through his heart, making him want to cry. 

**They held each other tighter.**

A quiet question was made, concealed behind all the waves of information they were sharing: _“Did it hurt back then?”_ Honestly, it was impossible to tell which one of them asked that first. 

Ross pried his eyes open to study the hero in front of him closer, trying to figure out which parts of his body were the telltales of his adventures without him. He felt stupid for not noticing earlier.

On the other hand, without looking at him, Alba had already memorized most of Ross’ body, to the point he could number the number of scars littering his otherwise flawless skin. It was one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen, so how could he forget?

**Everything about him was important to Alba's heart.**

_Wait. What?_

_No, that was private! Take it back!_

_Had he been thinking about him like this before? About them?_

_No! He just got carried away. He didn’t mean to!_

_When did this start? Why didn’t he said anything before?_

_Because it was embarrassing!_

_He could think it's disgusting!_

The water on the outside world began to rise in temperature, to the point small bubbles could be seen forming on the surface. Albatross gritted his teeth and shuffled uncomfortably.

-”Hero, what are you doing?.”- Ross hissed, trying his best to keep up with the waves of unsteady resonance.

-”I’m sorry!”- he excused himself with a shaky breath -“I’ll stabilize it, I just- let me dial it back.”- while he said that, there was a painful sting on both of their chests. Alba had just sent a wave of raw mana through their link, in an attempt to regain control over the fusion. 

**Ross rejected it.**

-”Do you plan to cook us alive or something?”- the raven winced -”It’s getting hotter outside, get a hold of yourself, Hero!”-

-”I’m trying to control it!”- his hands began to tremble, a few beads of sweat were already forming on his forehead. He couldn’t mess it up, he didn’t want to hurt him, but the fact that some of his actual personal thoughts leaked scared him shitless - “Let me go, I will just use my own mana to restore this, I’m sorry, I’m…!”-

-"Stop apologizing!"- Ross groaned.

Albatross was already huffing, his hair had also started to slowly degrade into golden brown -”Stop it… please stop it you two… it hurts…!”- his head felt lighter than it should be. Reaching for a nearby rocky edge he tried to steady himself on it but slipped and fell inside the pool, hitting his head with a heavy _thunk_.

At the same time, Ross pulled Alba closer, smashing their foreheads together with enough force to make him shut up. Darkness was starting to grow deeper from below their feet, slowly consuming everything and making their bodies sink into a strange gooey substance.

\- “Give me the lead.”- Ross demanded -”You are going to kill us both.”-

-"What?"- the brunette frowned -"Why?! If anything, I should be in charge! I have more mana than you!”- 

_He could settle with Ross as nothing but a friend. A mentor. A teammate._

_But risking losing him over his stupid crush was not an option._

_He couldn’t give him control… because if he did, he would see._

_He would see just how much he wished he could stay by his side forever._

-”Oh?”- the darkness on his features increased as he painfully gripped his chin - “Aren’t you getting too ahead of yourself, _Hero-san_? Do I need to remind you who taught you all you know about magic and combat?”-

-”Ugh-”- shaking his head off he managed to pry himself free. Honestly, his best friend had a terrible personality -”Is this how it’s going to be every time we fuse? I can take care of things on my own!”-

The least the brunette wanted was pissing him off and potentially ending up beaten the living daylights out of him and naked in the middle of nowhere on the real world, but right now this was his core-self speaking. For the time being, he had no filter whatsoever. 

_Alba couldn’t possibly believe he was better off without his help. He just couldn’t._

_Was he going to leave him behind too?_

_He could tie him up. Blackmail him with embarrassing secrets. Keep him hidden in some forgotten cellar underground._

_Anything to prevent the world from taking the most important person away from him again._

_That bright smile was the only reason he was still around the living in the first place._

-”Hero!”- he exclaimed shaking him by the shoulders -”We are drowning! Let me just…!”-

-”I don’t need you to fix things! I don’t need you at all!”- he screamed back, pushing him away with his powerful wavelength. With that, the fusion was broken in an instant, both of them waking up at the bottom of the hot spring. 

Alba freaked out and gasped without thinking twice, which cut his air supply to zero in matter of seconds. Ross noticed and quickly dove in and dragged him by the hair to the surface.

Coughing and spitting away unhealthy amounts of water, they had to take a few minutes to collect themselves while they clung for dear life to any ledge they could find.

-”It hurts!”- Alba screamed, referring to both his burning throat and the sharp tug he had felt on his hairline - “It freaking hurts!”- 

-”Of course it hurts, you moron!”- the raven shouted back slapping the back of his head -“I told you we were drowning!”- 

-”I’m sorry, I truly am! What else do you want me to...”- trying to look at him, he noticed Ross was hiding part of his face with one of his hands. His jaw was tense and his brows displaying a deep frown -”Ross? Ross, are you alright?”-

-”Why would you push me away like that.”- was his curt reply.

-”I didn’t want to hurt you!”- paddling towards him with some difficulty, he tried to move his hand away, but Ross eluded him. There was a thread of crimson rolling down his chin, coming from a gash on his forehead. Alba’s stomach dropped.

-”You will hurt me more if you don’t explain me what are you so uneasy about.”- 

The brunette couldn’t bring himself to say anything back, he just silently inched his fingers until he was allowed to cup his face and cast a healing spell. The raven was glaring daggers at him, but all of his focus was in closing the wound as quickly as possible. Once he was done there wasn’t even a sign of it. What a relief. 

-”You did it again.. you took the physical damage for the two of us…”-

-”Don’t avoid my question.”- the other replied back -”We were doing just fine until you freaked out. Why.”-

-”I just…”- ashamed, he lowered his head -”You’ve done plenty for me… I want to protect you too…”-

-”You don’t think I’m strong on my own?”- Ross said with annoyance.

-”No!”- slamming both of his hands over the warm water, the brunette sighed in exasperation -”That’s not what I mean!”-

-”Out of the two, I’m the one with more experience. You are improving but it’s clear you lack the focus.”- he continued, flickering away a few drops of water from his hair after Alba’s childish outburst. His expression was still fixed on a scowl -”Why are you making harder than it has to be, Hero?”-

-”Why is it always about control with you?!”- the other male snapped back. Ross remained silent -”As Albatross you want to see everything inside of me and… and I’m stupid enough to let it happen!”- 

Combing his bangs back in frustration, he kept on rambling -”And then there’s the whole self-sacrifice thing! Why would risk it all like that?! We both know I’m far stronger than before. I don’t need you babying me at every single step! If you get hurt because of me again I’ll…!”- 

He bit his lip. This whole thing was starting to make him frustrated enough to feel the corner of his eyes sting. Goddammit, why was so hard for him to understand?!

-”You’ll what.”- the raven pressed on. 

-”I just want you to rely more on my strength, Ross.”- the Hero finally said.

There was a pregnant silence in between them, interrupted only by the sound of water gently dripping down. Maybe coming to this place had been a mistake. They weren’t even training anymore. It all turned sour.

-”....I do trust you, Hero.”- Ross quietly spoke -”I told you before, didn’t I? It’s a given.”-

**Ah, it was so painful. So unfair.**

-”Then...why are you being so pushy about this fusion thing?”- Alba muttered -”We don’t really need it. If it’s get too dangerous then it defeats the purpose of the whole thing. We can just keep on fighting like we’ve been always doing.”-

-”Hero…”-

-”If it’s power what you want, you don’t even have to partner up with me. There’s plenty of people who would love to follow you around.”- at this point the brunette was waddling towards the nearest edge on the natural pool to get out, his back facing Ross - ”I bet your would be more compatible with Crea anyways...”- he muttered.

-”Hold on.”- a hurried splashing sound startled Alba. Turning around, he could see his friend trying to catch up with him -"What does Crea has to do with all this?"-

**Ah, he fucked up.**

-"Nevermind what I said. I was stupid."- he tried to hurry and get out of his range, but as expected, he didn’t make it in time. He could feel his cold fingers grabbing onto him, pulling and forcing to look at his eyes. 

-"Yes, you are indeed stupid."- Ross huffed -"Who do you think you are, going around and deciding things for me? If I picked _you_ it's for a reason."-

Somehow, those words stung deep into the brunette’s chest. Believing Ross’ words was something he had never questioned before, but lately it had been so hard to stand by his side. Alba would pick apart his sentences and try to find a deeper meaning to his subtle gestures, but that wouldn’t do any good. 

Misunderstanding Ross’ feelings towards him was one of the things he feared the most, which is why he had to slap his hand away.

 **He was just fooling himself**.

-"Forget it, ok? I said something dumb! I’m sorry!"-

-"When we were fused, you did this very same thing, Hero."- taking a few steps with some difficulty, he managed to take a hold of his forearm to keep him from leaving -"You don’t share what you are thinking. You run away from me."-

-"Back off, Ross."- his left eye flickered in between red and hazel - "I'm warning you."-

-" _You_ are giving _me_ warnings?"- slamming a wet palm over the rocks behind his back, the raven inched closer to his face -"The only thing you have on me is mana. If we end up having a serious fight against each other, we both know I would win.”- a hollow smile appeared on his face -”And that’s because I’m nothing but selfish.”-

-”...”- locking eyes with Ross was something he tended to avoid, mainly because it was impossible for him not to get self-conscious whenever those beautiful crimson orbs were cast directly over him. 

Maybe it was the hot water making him all light-headed but he could have sworn there was a glint of fondness in them despite how harsh his words were.

He did had a point though. Alba would rather let himself lose than actually risk harming Ross. 

On a serious fight, the raven would go for either the complete knockout or permanent incapacitation, whereas the brunette would just try to keep his distance and make him faint or use capture magic. The ex legendary hero had no contemplations because he had forged his way through several relentless fights against foes who always went straight for the kill. 

The Red Fox was different. He was a young man with a heart that bleeds kindness, even towards those who didn’t deserve it. Fighting was inevitable, but the goal was saving as many as he could, even if that meant throwing away his dignity.

Alba knew all of this too well, and so did Ross.

-”Why...why isn’t that you can’t see it?”- the frustration leaking from the raven’s usually confident demeanor was making the Hero a bit anxious. It wasn’t like him to speak this much -”I know I’m difficult. I know I’m not sweet. But out of all people out there… you should be the one who understands me the best, Hero.”-

Of course he understood. Ross wanted to become stronger, to regain some of his old glory. To be independant and boundless again. Alba had stolen his power, though he was never really given a chance to refuse in the first place. He had seen with his own eyes how the ravenette struggled to fit in now that he was merely human. Alba was certain he missed having the upper hand over other people.

Because Ross was still _Ross_ , and not being able to control things frustrated him to no end. Rolling his eyes, the brunette sighed -”I know...”-

-”Shut up. Whatever you are going to say, it’s wrong.”- Ross cut him off. He took a deep breath and then blurted out -”I like you. I want you.”-

-"Eh?"-

Silence.

Alba blinked a few times before his jaw dropped 

-"EH?!"-

-”Such an ugly face.”- Ross complained, lowering his arm and letting it fall to the side. Alba was free to move away if he wanted to now, but he was so shocked, he could barely bring himself to breathe 

-“This is not at all how I expected things to go…seriously, you make everything so unnecessarily complicated, Hero.”-

-”You… you mean you… just want….to torture me, right?”- the brunette said, still having a hard time to make his brain work out a full sentence. 

Surely, he couldn't _possibly_ mean he _liked_ Alba. No. Not like _that_. It was just an unfortunate way of phrasing his words.

**His heart wouldn't be able to handle the disappointment if this turned out to be a bad taste joke.**

-”Well, yes, that’s a big part of why I love you so much, I suppose.”- the ex-soldier deadpanned -”But this is more of a _“I want to break your ribs and imprison you inside a tower forever, then marry you”_ kind of thing.”-

Alba choked on air.

-"Wow. How graceful."-

-"Why is the marriage part below the beating and confinement?! Your priorities worry me!"-

-"Details."-

-”You!… You do understand the meaning of liking someone, right?!”- Alba said, still skeptical about this declaration -"Did you ever learn what those words mean?!"-

-”It means you are... do I really need to spell it out for you?”- rubbing the bridge of his nose, Ross groaned -" You are starting to make me regret my words, Hero. Honestly, how dense can you possibly be?"- 

-"Excuse me?!"- splashing some water towards his face with a frown, he argued -"For your information I'm not dense! You are! Do you have any idea how long I've been..?!"-

He halted mid-sentence but it was too late. Ross had lifted a forearm to protect his eyes from the splash, but as he lowered it, it revealed a smug grin aimed directly towards him. Alba tried to hide his burning cheeks in vain.

” _Oho?_ "- the raven was getting way too close for the brunette's taste -"What was that, Hero? You fell for me before I did? Is that what you were going to say? I already heard everything from your inner self though."-

Alba turned around, incredibly embarrassed and loss for words. He was desperately trying to find an excuse, something that would let him retort back, but he couldn’t. Ross began to poke any exposed flesh he could find, trying to gauge a reaction out of Alba but all he managed to let out were intelligible monosyllable noises.

-"You are such a shoujo manga heroine cliché, Hero. Were you writing down all your feelings in a diary in hopes to one day build up your courage?"-

-”Ah! Dammit! You are so annoying!"- he finally exploded -"You were the one who came at me first so why am I being bullied for it?! What kind of messed up confession is this?! This is not romantic at all!”-

His eyes finally managed to stare back at Ross, and the sight left him breathless.

Even with his damp messy hair, Alba could clearly make out the ruby red of his eyes, contrasting strongly against his pale skin. 

There was a rosy tinge to his cheeks as well, and he kind of hoped it wasn't just because of the hot springs.

-”There you are, Hero.”- that stupid smile on his face shouldn’t have been as handsome. Alba blamed his poor heart for being so weak when it came to Ross’ expressions -“You are finally looking at me.”-

Giving him no time to run away, Ross closed the gap between them by pressing their lips together. Alba’s first reaction was to let out a small surprised yelp. His hands immediately flew to his bare chest to put some distance between them. It was futile, as Ross had predicted his movements and captured both of his wrists to keep him locked in place.

His brain began to number many ways to run away: headbutting him, kicking him in the groin, pushing him by force, using a basic stun spell. There were plenty of possibilities.

 **But he didn't _want_ to execute any of them**.

Having his best friend kissing him so tenderly was enough to set a hurricane of butterflies into his stomach. Years of yearning vanished, and made him feel like it was only yesterday he began to fantasize with this exact same moment. It was gentle at first, barely a brush that lingered for a few seconds, but just when Alba was starting to drop his tense shoulders, the ravenette launched himself forward and used his teeth to bite down the Hero's lower lip.

-"R-Ross!"- Alba gasped whipping his head away, breath shaky -"Why so suddenly?!"-

-"How annoying."- was the only reply he got before he kissed him again, this time snaking his hand behind Alba’s nape to keep him steady. His eyes were dangerously dark -”I’m done with being patient, so zip it.”- 

**Alba’s heart skipped a beat.**

Both bodies got naturally closer as their shared kiss grew on passion, clumsy movements making both of their inexperience on this field shine through. Ross used the rocks behind his partner to corner him. By pure instinct Alba rose one his legs, hooking it around the ex-soldier's waist which gave them the perfect angle to grind against one another.

There was a growl of approval whenever the hard bulge on Ross' swimming trucks pushed against Alba's, a shiver of pleasure settling on their veins. At some point the brunette had also locked both of his forearms around Ross’ neck, using it as leverage whenever he tried to fight for dominance. 

Not that he succeeded, though.

Their tongues began to explore more freely the inside of each others mouth, tasting and sucking greedily with little care about oxygen. The ex-soldier’s fingers roamed through the other man's lower back, rubbing small circles as he inched closer to...

-"Phwa!"- a loud wet pop signaled their separation, leaving them both panting and huffing. Alba’s lips were pink, a silver of their mixed saliva running down his chin -”W-wait! Time-out, time-out!"- Ross frowned.

-"You complain way too much."- dipping his head into the crook of his neck and letting his forehead rest over his shoulder, Ross relented his advances for the time being -”What a turn-off, Hero.”- 

-"You are too rough!"- the brunette protested, moving around and making the water ripple around them. Licking his lips he frowned -”You even made me bleed!”-

-”Can’t help it.”- Ross tone was low -”Red looks good on you, Hero.”-

Once again, Alba could feel all the blood on his body rushing straight to his face. 

His heart began to do the strangest things, like drumming at a concerning tempo inside his ribcage that could easily be qualified as an arrhythmia. It was so painfully obvious, he was sure Ross could hear it.

They stared at each other for a couple of seconds, though it could have been a small eternity for all they cared. It was so easy to guess what they wanted to do next, but it wasn't just a mere romp what they were looking for. 

It was the kind of shared sentiment that could only be conveyed after years of build-up, just for this one moment. 

How long had it been since Ross had let himself feel something besides anger and regret? How many nights had Alba spent awake with the painful memory of the most precious person for him vanishing in front of him?

Slowly, both of them inched closer and met halfway, joining again into a tender liplock. 

**It was so natural, it felt surreal**.

-"You better don't be joking about this, Shion."- Alba hissed, his eyes never leaving him when they finally parted away -"I'm not letting you go."-

-”Needy.”- Ross simply half-smiled. His arms surrounded the brunette's middle, keeping their bodies tightly close -“Just be mine forever already.”-

-"...okay."- he said, hugging him by the neck and rubbing his cheek against his shoulder -”Let’s stay together… until the end.”- Alba could have sworn he heard a sharp intake from his side before the raven’s whole body relaxed.

 **It was really warm**.

-”You are so quiet… did you fall asleep on me?”- the brunette giggled after a while. But he got no reply.

-"Ross?"- his arms had limped a while ago, but the weight on his side was rapidly increasing which couldn’t be a good sign. 

-"Huh...Ross?"- patting his back, he finally paid attention to his skin. 

It was bright red, all of it.

He was overheating.

-"OH MY GOD, ROSS!"- 

* * *

-”To think you would pass out in the middle of your confession.”- Alba snickered as he blew some cool air towards him with a cheap hand fan -“So lame.”-

-”Shut up. I’ll kill you.”- Ross voice came out muffled. He had his face plastered against a soft pillow, most likely sulking.

The room they got on the ryokan was plenty spacious. It had two fluffy futons already spread over the tatami, with a small oak table over the corner. Some tea and tangerines were placed on top of it. Both males were wearing simple patterned yukatas, Alba's was a light blue while his partner's had a darker tone. They were light and comfortable.

-”But it was rather cute… when you were leaning onto me.”- the brunette kept saying with a little grin tugging his lips up -”I didn’t know you had such low resistance to heat, Soldier~.”-

Ross raised half of his body quickly and grabbed a nearby cushion to smack the brunette square on the face. The blush was spreading all the way to his neck -”I’m definitely going to kill you!”-

-"Waitwaitwaitwa-ck!"- 

His hit connected perfectly, making Alba lose his balance and fall backwards. The ex-soldier took this chance to scramble his way towards him and placed the pillow directly over his face -”You have such poor resistance to the lack of oxygen, Hero. So pathetic!”- 

The Hero trashed around for a while, trying to fend off from Ross' attack. It took him a while, but he finally managed to find a gap to breathe again.

-”NO! THIS IS SOMETHING ANY HUMAN WOULD BE WEAK AGAINST!”- 

They kept at it for a little longer and unsurprisingly ended up with Alba calling quits. It was hard to come up with good comebacks for their usual playful banter when he was distracted by Ross’ smiling face. Witnessing the ravenette being so expressive was a once in a blue moon event. The Hero could number with his fingers the amount of times the Soldier had felt anything remotely akin to embarrassment, so this was a rare treat.

As the laughter died and their breaths returned to normal, it dawned on Alba how close they were. Ross was on top of him with his strong thighs around his hips, straddling him effortlessly with that god damn yukata leaving little to imagination, as it barely concealed his privates from direct exposure.

Even if he focused on his upper torso, he would only see the ravenette huffing with his skin still lovely flushed, and the collar of his robe dropping slightly, revealing his collarbone. His slightly damp hair was messy, giving him a wild look, framing those wonderful red eyes perfectly.

-"See something you like?"- Ross said after he noticed the dumb stare of his partner glued on him -"Or do you have a ceiling kink?"-

-"W-what?!"- snapping back to reality, Alba reacted -"What kind of fetish is that?!"-

-"Ah, so the Hero is the type of person who would get horny after being suffocated and thrown into the floor. Truly, a grade-A masochist."-

-"IS NOT LIKE THAT, YOU TRIED TO MURDER ME WITH A PILLOW!"-

Ross couldn’t help an amused smirk. 

It was always _so easy_ messing around with the Hero and making him lose his cool. Not that he had any to begin with though. Looking down on him, even in such compromising position, brought satisfaction to the raven. Despite Alba’s unexpected grow spurt and new lean built, Ross could still overpower him (he chose to ignore the fact that nowadays it took him longer to make the Hero submit).

Now that he got the chance to look at him properly, with those big dumb brown eyes and parted lips, he felt like punching him.

Those messy locks, sprawled all over the tatami gave him the illusion of a golden-brown halo. The blush that crept all the way to his ears, the way he tried to look anywhere else in a desperate attempt to conceal his self-consciousness.

He was so unbearably _cute_ , it pissed him off.

-”Say, Hero.” - he suddenly said, leaning carefully over him, both of his hands resting by the sides of the brunette’s head -”Back there, you went along with the kiss... but you tend to get caught up in whatever situation you are thrown into. I want to know if you truly meant what you said.”-

-”That’s…! I wouldn't let _that_ happen with just anyone!”- he replied back, sitting up with his elbows. Ross relented and just lifted an eyebrow -"Even I know you shouldn't do that kind of thing with someone you didn't...l-lo...lo...care for!"-

-"Ah, you backtracked."-

-"Shut up!"- dropping back and covering his face with both hands, he groaned out -“I didn’t hear such thing!”-

-”You were going to say you lo-”-

-”I CAN’T HEAR YOU LALALA.”-

The Hero covered his ears and whipped his head to the side.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Ross slowly slid his hand over the inviting chest opening at Alba’s yukata. His skin was smooth, warm and oh so soft. The ex-soldier’s fingers drummed around his ribcage, and slowly trailed his nails all the way up to where his heart should be. The young Hero arched his back, following his movements as he let out a shaky breath.

-”Nothing to say about this?”- he asked with a tinge of amusement -“Mr. I always have a tsukkomi ready?”- 

-”S-shut up…”- it was a shame he was still concealing his features, but the honesty of his body was enough to encourage Ross to keep on exploring. With the pad of his thumbs, he slowly massaged Alba’s perky little nipples.

They quickly hardened under his ministrations, and he couldn’t help but to capture one of them and pinch it. He could hear the brunette sucking in air through his teeth, startled by his actions but otherwise not fighting back. Taking his as a green light to keep on going, Ross placed his lips over the juncture of his neck and jaw. 

He could feel Alba’s pulse rapidly increasing, beating in anticipation. 

-"You look like a tomato."- Ross casually said -”A really ugly one.”- 

-"And you look like a smug jerk!"- Alba finally snapped, his hands squeezing Ross’ cheeks on a playful, yet still aggressive, fashion -”A perverted, tsundere... dumbass...jerkface!”- 

-”Your barbs are losing their charm, Hero.”- the other male deadpanned -”So lame.”-

-”Why are you so…!!”- without warning, Alba grabbed a fistful of the clothes in front of him and forced his best friend to bend down. The movement was so sudden, it completely caught Ross off guard. 

Without wasting a second, the brunette smashed their lips together. Old Ross would have shoved him away, mostly because he knew he wouldn’t be able to survive losing yet another important person in his life. Reason screamed at him go abort this mission, to turn back and keep the status quo. Hero was too precious, too important to afford messing things up like this. 

But all Ross wanted to do was to freeze time and forever bask on this moment. 

He chose to give in, and eagerly reciprocated, silently requesting for entrance by tracing the opening of his lips with his tongue. To his delight Alba had already anticipated, meeting him half-way.

Cupping his face with both of his hands, the raven kept him steady as he selfishly claimed the inside of the Hero’s mouth. It was really hard for him not to lose it whenever Alba’s needy whimpers resonated on the room every time they had to gasp for air 

The hardness growing in between both of their nether regions was also painfully obvious, the lack of underwear from both parties not helping at all. 

However, Ross wasn’t a shy virgin like Hero. No sir. And so, he didn’t hesitate rolling his hips to provide some much-needed relief.

Eventually the position they were in proved to be too straining for the brunette, who had to let himself fall backwards into the floor yet again. Thankfully, Ross got the hint and supported half of his weight by holding him by the back of his neck.

-”Ross…”- 

The sun was setting behind them, casting long shadows and placing everything on sharp focus. 

Alba’s lips pronouncing his name were sending strange shivers down his spine. Or maybe it was how wonderfully dazed he looked, the blush of his cheeks giving him an alluring glow that practically begged him for more.

Or maybe, it was his left eye, swirling and changing into a bright crimson hue.

Ross immediately noticed how their bodies were being surrounded by a mixture of red and blue tendrils, barely visible, entwining one with the other. Akin to licks of fire, they were all different in size and form.

-”Hero.”- the raven quietly said -”Don’t flip out but... I think we are soul linking right now.”-

-”Huh?”- blinking a few times, the meaning of his friend’s words finally reached Alba’s consciousness. Following Ross’ line of sight, he realized what was happening -“Oh crap! I’m sorry!”- trying to move Ross out of the way by softly patting his forearm, he nervously added - “I will cut it off, just give me one minute…”-

-”No.”- the ex-soldier leaned onto him once again, his breath tickling Alba’s ear - “Leave it like this.”-

-”Wh-?”-

-”Let’s give our training another go, Hero.”- he said with a mischievous smirk. 

* * *

-”Keep your voice down, Hero.”- Ross scolded after a little while -“The owners might think I’m doing horrible things to you.”-

-”But...but!”- the brunette helplessly whined -”You are...licking… there... it's too intense!”-

Nestled in between the Hero's legs, Ross' head was comfortably resting as he kept toying around with Alba's flushed cock. His tongue lazily trailing all the way up to the tip and cleaning away the beads of precum leaking out.

His robes were wide open, leaving his whole body exposed to the chilly air and Ross' sinful touches. Somehow, this felt more naughty than being completely naked.

The sight alone was more than whatever feverish wet dream Alba had ever had. Watching his best friend so happily giving him a blowjob shouldn't have made him as hard as it did. 

His hips bucked uselessly whenever Ross took him inside his mouth, the velvety sensation of his tongue coiling around him so wonderfully pleasurable. Moaning out loud and holding onto the futon sheets for dear life, Alba tried his best not to cum just yet. It helped that Ross squeezed his base with his fingers, applying enough force to send a jolt of tolerable pain through his body.

-”You really want me to stop?”- the raven whispered with his lips placed over his sensitive flesh -"Even when I can hear your thoughts clear as day?"-

-”A-ah…”- the Hero breathed out, his cock twitching and his thighs trembling.

-”Such an honest body.”- Ross smirked, moving away and instead cupping his soft bouncy ass with his hands -"I can feel how much you want me, even if you try to deny it."- 

His heart skipped a beat to those words and the red aura around him got slightly brighter with a pulsing motion. The ex legendary hero chuckled. Getting back to work, he groped and squeezed his bottom gently at first, only to gradually increase his force. 

Alba was responding enthusiastically despite his complaints, going as far as using the tip of his toes as leverage to rise up his lower back and give him better access.

A smug grin appeared on Ross' face as he spread his butt cheeks, revealing his small little hole, twitching in anticipation for what was soon to come. 

-"D-don't stare…- the young male mumbled ashamed -"It's embarrassing…"-

-"After tonight, nothing will be embarrassing anymore, Hero."- the other one assured him. 

They had no lube or anything that could ease things for Alba's body, but having the soul link established _should_ grant Ross the use of his old powers to a certain extent. 

Putting this theory to the test, the raven snapped his fingers and a few seconds later, a slimy translucent gel covered his digits.

-"Heh. Would you look at that."- he said rubbing the substance and studying it up close before smearing it on his entrance with gentle circles. The Hero gasped, not sure of what to make out of this new feeling.

Ever so slightly, Ross pushed his middle finger in, marveling at how hot and tight his lover was. Alba's first instinct was to clench around the intruder, but the raven was nothing but a bully, and he fought him back by inserting a second finger, scissoring him with care.

-"It's cold..!"- Alba said, shifting around and trying to find a comfortable position. The small of his back arched as he willed himself to relax, his eyes fixated on Ross' face instead.

His brows were knitted, and the tip of his tongue was running absentmindedly through his lips. He looked like a hungry animal, but for Alba's sake, he was taking his time to make things right.

Suddenly, Ross' fingers reached a certain spot that made Alba let out a loud moan. He had hit something deep inside him that sent a jolt of pleasure straight to his needy cock, threatening to make him climax even without touching himself.

-"Did I found your sweet spot, Hero?"- the raven cooed, an evil smile curving his lips as he pushed once more against his prostate.

Alba threw his head back, closing his eyes as he shook through waves of pleasure, watered-down only by Ross teeth sinking on his thigh as he pulled his fingers out. 

**It hurt _so good_ , the brunette barely remembered he had to breathe.**

_"You can't cum. Not yet. I want to play around with you more. Say my name louder. Say that you can't live without me. Look at me, and only me. I want you to let_ **_me_ ** _break you."_

Those unfiltered, unspoken wishes that resided deep inside Ross, along with his fears and doubts, resonated like an echo on Alba's head. 

_Maybe, the brunette had the right to leave Ross after all the beatings and_ _hardships he had endured so far. no one would blame him._

_Maybe, he should be concerned that most of those happy desires Ross had involved Alba failing and being unable to keep on existing without the former Soldier's help._

_Maybe, that fantasy the ravenette had about actually tying him up and keeping him tucked away from everyone else should make Alba realize how much of a dangerous selfish bastard Ross truly was_.

**The hero was too good for him to keep.**

One shaky hand reached for Ross’ cheek, gently coaxing him to look up. Alba was sitting with his elbows, his face flushed and teary-eyed, yet somehow he managed to give him the sweetest smile he had ever seen -”Don't be silly, Shion. I'm not going anywhere.”- 

Why wasn’t he scared? Anyone on his right mind would be. But for some reason, Alba would never judge him or even think of running away.

-”You… you really are an idiot.”- the raven said with a voice he couldn’t recognize as his. It was so soft, so frail, to the point the brunette practically leaped into his arms and locked their lips together tenderly to make that sadness go away.

**Their link was turning stronger and with it the desire to become one.**

The Hero pushed him back until Ross was sitting over the fluffy mat while he combed his fingers through that silky ebony hair. For once he was on a position of power, and he made the most of it by peppering his face with devoted kisses. With Alba mere inches from sitting on his lap and busy showering him in attention, Ross ran his hands sensually through his legs all the way up to his ass, kneading under the cover of his robe.

-"Hero…"- 

He guided him until the brunette could feel the tip of his member prodding at his entrance, the slickness already inviting him to claim his insides. Ross teased him for a bit, pushing him down, hinting what he wanted to do, only to slip away and rub against the inner side of his thighs.

Alba's body twitched, all of his nerves extra sensitive after so much foreplay and anticipation. He took matters into his own hands, literally, by holding the ex-soldier's hot length and angling in such fashion he wouldn't be able to miss penetrating him.

-"G-gently...please…"- the brunette pleaded -"I...I don't know how…just...make us feel good."-

Ross got closer to his face and placed a kiss on his forehead. As much as he loved watching his little Hero squirm and cry, he wanted this first time to be something Alba would treasure permanently. A special memory so no one could ever take him away.

-"It's alright, Hero."- taking one of his shaky hands, he guided him to his neck -"Here, hold on to me."- Ross didn't have to repeat it twice, the brunette surrounded him with his arms and hid half of his face on his shoulder.

The intrusion was uncomfortable at first, the sensation on itself really strange. 

He could feel the hard thickness filling him in a way he couldn't describe, making the Hero lose his composure -"It won't fit...it's too big!"- Alba cried out halfway, holding tight onto Ross and tensing up his muscles.

-"As much as that flatters me, Hero...I think you will be just... fine."- the other one said, cut short briefly by the increased tightness inside the brunette. He was too stiff for him to go in any further. 

Trying to figure out how to make him relax, Ross tried whispering on his ear sweet words of encouragement, as he pumped Alba’s shaft to increase his pleasure. His strokes were languid, trying to go as slow as possible to make him more comfortable.

It worked wonders, maybe too well, since by the time he finally filled him in entirely the brunette was already cumming all over his stomach. Alba cried out, bucking his hips up and down in an attempt to increase his pleasure by finding that same spot Ross had been poking at before. His vision turned white, and the only thing he could think of was how good Ross’ cock felt deep inside him.

-”You... really like being praised, huh?”- the ex-soldier mocked, though he had also been on the verge of ending things too quickly. The aftershocks of his orgasm were squeezing him in the most perfect way. Alba’s body was helplessly docile, all of his weight resting over the raven’s. 

Still connected, Ross gently let them both fall back into the futon.

-”A-ah… ah…”- the brunette uselessly panted as he came down from his high, eyes hazy and a silver of drool falling from his lips. The sight was enough to make Ross’ cock twitch with excitement. As we waited for the Hero to regain his senses, Ross spotted the forgotten hand fan they had been using earlier. A mischievous grin formed on his lips as he reached out to fetch it. 

-”Ross?”- he mumbled, still trying to recover -”What are you…?”- 

Without giving any explanation, the ex-soldier pulled out and flipped his body until Alba was all on four. The brunette was so dazed he had no way of putting up any kind of resistance. He soon came back to his senses when the felt the impact of the closed fan over his right buttcheek, the painful sting making him yelp in surprise. 

-”W-why?!”- Alba protested trying to move, but his face hit the pillow when both of his hands were pulled behind his back and tied up by an unknown force. 

Ross’ mana had physically manifested, snaking its way up through his body and capturing his wrists. They looked like will-o-wisps, not really burning or hurting him, but effectively rendering his extremities useless for the time being. A quick check through the bond in between them confirmed that they were easily breakable if he wished to. 

**_But he didn’t want to._ **

-"You made fun of me earlier."- Ross simply said with a shit-eating grin, his yukata wide open and revealing his toned muscles and hard rock erection. Alba shivered upon the sight -"This is punishment."-

-"You sadist!"- the brunette managed to bite back looking over his shoulder.

-”Silence.”- spanking him with the fan once more, Alba whined his name and a curse. Ross darkly chuckled -”I didn’t give you permission to talk back, pet.”-

He kept this game going for a while, stalling just enough to calm himself down for a bit. Ross was rarely a patient person, but in this case, he wanted things to last as long as possible. For each time Alba tried to protest or run away, he would smack him with enough force to leave a light imprint over his tender skin.

Of course, he also knew how to reward him whenever it became too much for his little Hero. He would kiss and caress his abused flesh and then give him a few good strokes before withdrawing. By the time he ditched his torture tool, Alba was shaking and leaking precum all over his thighs. 

-"Red is definitely your color, Hero."- Ross whispered near his ear as he prepared himself to enter him yet again. This time it was easier, with the brunette spreading his knees apart and dipping his upper body forward. 

The position was quite straining for his back, but at this point, the only thing Alba craved for was more of this pain.

**More of Ross. All to himself.**

-"A-ah! Soldier!"- he moaned out when he was finally in, reaching that secret spot that made him lose his mind. The raven’s thrusts were shallow, dragging how long he was in an out without a set pace.

-"Such a nostalgic name."- the other commented as he bucked his hips with a particularly strong movement, Alba whined -"Is that how you see me as, Hero? Your Soldier?"-

-"N-no!"- panting out his words with some difficulty, he replied back -"You are more than that!"-

-”Is that so… Then how about Creasion?”- with this statement he got tighter, making Ross hiss under his breath. 

He could see it, the imaginary version of himself with a blue flame over his bangs, ravishing the Hero without mercy. Ah, seriously, Alba was more naughty than the led on.

-”Shion! D-don’t peek!”- 

-”It can’t be helped, we are fusing part of our souls.”- he said, amused by the obscene amount of fantasies playing over their shared consciousness -”I can be whoever version of “me” you want the most, Hero. All you have to do… is ask.”- with that, he snapped his hips forward, making Alba moan out his name.

-"The only one I want….”- he panted out with some difficulty -”Is the one... in front of me.”-

Ross halted all movement as those words reached him, his crimson eyes growing wider and the burning blush creeping on his cheeks expanding all the way to the tip of his ears. The embarrassing truth was too much for him to handle, happiness taking him by surprise and forgetting for a second that he was balls deep into Alba’s interior. 

**The dumb Hero made his heart skip a beat, how dared he?!**

Suddenly, the restrains disappeared and the brunette could finally move his aching arms around a little bit -”Ro-? A-ah!”- before he could even finish calling his name, the raven had pulled out once more, his head hanging low as his shoulders shaking. For a moment, Alba got really concerned that something had gone wrong, however, when Ross lifted his face, he had a dark look on his features. 

He was holding his cock on a tight fist, his semen leaking and clearly at the verge of spilling out. 

_He almost came just by hearing that stupid mushy confession._

The Hero was swiftly taken by the ankle and dragged until he was beneath Ross, his legs up and around his middle. His grip would surely leave a mark later -” Shut up. I’m still not done with you.”- he growled his voice as low and dangerous -”Come on. Spread yourself open for me.”-

Whimpering in pain and frustration, Alba parted his swollen buttcheeks enough for him to see all of his shame. 

-”Good boy.”- Ross purred nesting himself in between his legs -”Now… beg."-

-”Shion...Shion!”- Alba said, trying to get his entrance close to the tip of his shaft, only to be rejected -“Please...inside me...I want you inside me!”-

-”Not good enough.”- he said, his signature sadistic mock smile ever-present.

-”I-I don’t know how to dirty talk!”-

-”Then what better way than this? Come on.”- he demanded, spanking him lightly -”I know you have it in you.”-

-”S-stop teasing me, you jerk!”- he practically cried out. Biting his lower lip, Alba himself pushed him the head of his shaft with shaky hands and teary eyes -”Just make me yours already, love of my fucking life!”-

That flipped a switch on Ross’ brain.

Throwing away the little self-control he still had, he clung to Alba’s hip bones by digging his nails on them until he was entirely sheathed inside of him in one violent thrust. Without giving the Hero any time to recover, he pulled out almost all the way… and sunk back in with force.

Alba’s quiet sobs turned into loud moans, his toes curling and fingers leaving scratch marks over the tatami in an attempt to hold onto something. He kept his arse up though, meeting his lover’s movements midway, as per usual. 

The ravenette fucked him without mercy, just like he had silently requested, inching closer to his body until the only thing he was able to move was his hips. The palm of his hands, at some point, had found Alba's hands and now they were entwined.

Ross moaned through clenched teeth.

The sound of their skin slapping against each other and the sight Hero’s muffled cries as he let tears and saliva stain the sheets were too much for him to fend off his own orgasm any longer. Alba hit his climax first, his knees giving up a while after a spurt of his seed soiled the bedding. Ross didn't relent though, thoroughly hitting his sweet spot even with his body uselessly laying over the futon. The soul bond only prolonged the brunette's pleasure until he was certain he was on the verge of fainting.

When Ross finally came undone, the coil that had been building upon his groin snapped without warning and hit him with a force he didn't think it was possible. The raven could feel both his and Alba’s pleasure, mixing and amplifying everything, milking him for all that he was worth. 

A few seconds passed until he could finally feel himself softening. Taking one deep breath, Ross pulled out as gently as possible. The brunette gasped when he felt empty, immediately bringing a hand in between his legs to cover up his entrance before Ross could see the mess he had made.

The Hero’s abused buttcheeks had red marks from both his hands and the fan. Leaking through the Hero’s fingers a shiny white trail of Ross’ cum dripping down, smearing his thighs in the most erotic way. 

**Ross hard swallowed**.

-"...I really can’t win against you.”- he mumbled, leaning into him and once more seeking more of the sweet taste of his mouth. The sun finally set and sheltered them into peaceful darkness.

* * *

-“You are unsurprisingly into bondage… how fun.”- Ross said with a mocking grin as he poured himself some barely tea. It was cold already, but since he was feeling rather hot it worked out. The upper part of his yukata was tucked into his cloth belt, just covering what was necessary to remain decent. 

The lights of the room were all lit, showering them with warm yellow light. Through the window, one could see the partially star-sprinkled night sky, a waning moon shining brightly. Alba, on the opposite side, was sulking under the clean futon.

-”Y-you were the one who did that to me first!” -his come back came a bit strained, his throat sore as well as most of his body. He sighed - “Ah, forget it… I don’t have the strength to argue with you…”-

They shared a moment of comfortable silence.

-”Ross?”- 

-”Yeah?”- he said as he crawled his way to him.

-”If… if it’s okay… can I ask something…?”-

-”You already asked something.”- he deadpanned. Ruffling his hair a little bit, the raven sighed -”I can somewhat make out what you want to ask. The link is not on right now but I have these extra thoughts in my mind… and I’m sure as hell they are not mine.”-

-”...you know I want you to be happy, right?”- he started -”You are really important to me… and even if we… maybe… a time might come in which you… us… ah, what I’m trying to say is...”- fiddling with the ends of the soft quilt, he Alba struggled to find the right words to convey his feelings.

Ross waited for around three seconds until he got fed up and pushed him back.

-”I’m done with your mumbling.”- he hissed, grabbing his wrists and placing them over his head -”If you have something to say, say it.”-

-”I...”- trying to deny it any longer was useless. They had gone this far, wouldn’t make sense to come out clean about what he feared? 

Blaming their new power for making him feel such intense emotions should be allowed, but Alba knew that those sentiments were already within him from the start.

-“It feels as if everything inside of me will break if you are not here anymore.”- he confessed -”If I stop meeting your expectations… if one day you find something… _someone_ new you want to chase… I wouldn’t be able to stand it… I’m sorry I’m such a horrible person. In the end… I really… I don’t want to share this… _you_ , with anyone else.”-

-”Is this why you brought up Crea before?”- the ex-soldier inquired -”You were worried I would just swap you with someone else?”-

-"Please don't leave me…"- was all Alba could say back. 

Because Ross' hands were pinning his wrists, it was impossible for the Hero to conceal his face. The shame burned bright and free over his cheeks, threatening to make him the clear pinpricks forming on the corner of his eyes.

-"You are such a crybaby, Hero…"- using his thumb to gently get rid of those unshed tears, he continued -"And so stupid. Do you really think I'm doing this with you just because I want power? I don't need something like that to stay by your side."- Brushing his golden brown bangs away, he was able to see those soft, shiny chocolate eyes that always made Ross' heart do funny flips.

_Damn it all, he was too cute._

-"But..."- 

-"I don't care about being stronger."- the ex-legendary hero cupped his face with both hands -"It _does_ piss me off we got defeated by those guys, but it bothers me even more that you think I'm just using you to gain something."- He leaned in, leaving a soft kiss over his cheek. Alba sniffled and his arms immediately flew to his neck. It was becoming a recurrent thing, huh?

Ross accepted the embrace fully, pressing his lips over his now exposed shoulder. He smelled like sweat, sex, and something else that could only be pinpointed as "Alba".

_**He would never get tired of this warmth**. _

-"Then why?"- the brunette whispered -"Why did you want to learn how to fuse so badly?"-

It seemed like Alba wasn't going to let go of the topic until they fully addressed it. So typical of him being such a worrywart. Endearing, even.

The ex-soldier pondered for a while just how bad would it be avoiding the question by ravishing him all over again, but the tug on his soul reminded him that Alba would know for sure if he lied.

-"Because, Hero… I got jealous."- might as well fess up and be honest for once in his life.

-"Jea…?"-

-"Don't make me repeat myself."- he said defensively avoiding his sight -"It's plenty embarrassing I said it out loud.."-

-"You… have a thing for Ja...?"-

-"For crying out loud, Hero!"- Ross groaned dropping his head over the futon -"How dense can you possibly be?! It's the fusion! The fusion!"-

He took Alba’s silence as a _“I still don’t understand what you mean”_. Honestly, at this point, Ross actually considered punching his dumbass face. Gathering all the patience he had left inside his body, he let out a frustrated sigh before elaborating.

-"The fusion of two souls, Hero, is a feat that involves complicated magic. Not only increases the power of the subject, it also brings both sides closer."- rolling to the side and laying down, he continued -" Bringing to life something that didn’t exist before, that’s practically the dream of any magician or alchemist. But not just anyone would do, it has to be someone who is compatible with you physically and emotionally. Not to mention having magical aptitude.”-

Alba tilted his head, listening intently at his words.

-”Such perfect match, do you think that’s something magic can fabricate on itself?”- it wasn’t an actual question, but more of a rhetorical one -”You could probably fuse with whoever you wanted, but it could end up badly. When Samejima hinted me just how _personal_ the thing was, how _intimate_ it could get… I immediately wanted that for us...because...It would be the same as having you as my soulmate."-

**_It would be the same as having definite proof they were made for each other._ **

The brunette stayed silent a few seconds, trying to assimilate this new information without turning as red as a beet. 

His only saving grace was that the ravenette was also fighting the rising heat on his cheeks to pay much attention to him.

-"So...you wanted us to master this...so we could be… soulmates?"- he finally managed to say.

-"...would that be so awful?”- Ross asked quietly, facing him as he caressed his cheek. Alba’s eyelids dropped and he leaned into his touch with a soft smile -” No. I want to be closer to you too, always.”-

-”... stay with me, forever.” - the words came out of his lips before he could refrain himself.

-”Okay.”- the other replied without delay. It felt surreal to be able to pronounce what he had been trying to bury for the past couple of years, but it sure made his chest feel lighter.

-"Okay.”- bumping their foreheads together, he let out a sigh of relief. The thought of having someone to return to, to shower in both love and pain, made him giddy on the inside. 

After so many hardships, he never thought he would find what had been missing inside of him a millennia after.

He was insanely grateful to whatever greater force allowed him to meet Alba. 

-" Then… how about a second round?"-

* * *

-"I wasn't expecting a rematch this soon."- Januajima said as he walked into the open field, a tiny bean sprout stem poking out of his lips. It had been a little over four days since the last time they met. 

-"Yeah, well, my partner over here is eager to settle the score between us."- Ross said with a confident sneer. The brunette beside him slapped his shoulder halfheartedly -"Don't go saying things like that on your own! Although… it would be a lie if I told you I'm not sore about that last match."- Alba's eyelids dropped as he seized up their opponent.

-"Uwa, scary."- Ross quipped back with mockery without looking at him -"Cool talking like that doesn't suit you at all, Hero."-

-"You both seem more lively."- the red-haired fusion pointed out -"That's good, but I hope your ego isn't the only thing you guys raised."-

From one of the high balconies of the castle, the princess watched intently the grounds beneath her. She was told to stay inside to avoid getting hurt but her adventurous blood was stronger than her sense of self-preservation.

By the young heir's side, the ex hero FoyFoy was keeping her from getting too close to the action. His stern look shifted in between Hime and the battlefield.

-"I heard from Jakkun that this is a really complex spell."- Mii-chan casually said as he peered over the stone railing, his tail flickering to the sides -"The fact they can perform it at such a young age with no special items is quite amazing."-

-"I still don't understand why would they push themselves so hard to accomplish soul fusion."- the blond teacher said -"Those two are plenty strong as they are right now. This is overdoing it."-

-"Who knows…"-Hime said, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear -"I think they are not doing this for power. It feels more...personal than that."-

-”Let’s do this, Ross.”- this time when he extended his hand, the ex-soldier linked their fingers together before gently pulling him closer 

-”So demanding.”- the raven smirked before adding -”Then, I’ll leave my back to you, Hero.”-

The brunette nodded with a big smile.

A blast of light surrounded them, a gust of wind swirling wildly and rising dust beneath their boots. Holding up their entwined hands they both shouted out once more -”Soul fusion!”- The loud crackling of thunder descended upon them and in a flash, they were gone. Instead, a confident-looking Albatross was smugly grinning.

Januajima spat away the stem.

-"Show off."- FoyFoy muttered.

-”Yo.”- the Hero- Soldier fusion casually greeted -”It’s been a while.”-

-"You are far stronger now, I can sense it."- the other man approved with a smile. Spreading his feet apart, he bent his knees and prepared himself for battle -"Finally, I can face you head-on with all we got."-

-"Yeah. Sorry for the wait, Januajima."- mimicking his fighting stance, the raven chuckled- "You got me good last time, but now I can’t see myself losing!"-

A moment of tense silence filled the air. Both of them were carefully eyeing each other, slowly leaning towards their dominant sides. 

Suddenly, the man with the fiery red hair leaped forward, leaving behind a trail of cracked soil. Albatross followed him suit, meeting him mid-way with his fists already rising up, infused with mana.

_Haven't they learned that coming at him directly was a bad idea? Samejima had better reflexes than anyone else._

The ninja-scholar resonance easily moved away and went straight for the back of his neck to chop them to the ground. His right hand came down with such force, the wind whistled as he sliced it. But all he accomplished with that losing his balance by hitting a blank space.

In a span of a few seconds, they had vanished.

 _-"He dodged it…?"_ \- his red eye quickly scanned the area, but as soon as he glanced down he caught a black blur already launching an uppercut right below his chin _-"He wasn't casting anything, that mana gathering was a ruse! He wanted me to mess up my equilibrium!”-_

-"Grit your teeth, man!”- Albatross shouted with joy -”This one's a doozy!”-

By the time he realized, it was too late. The punch sent him several feet onto the air, making him taste blood. 

With nothing tangible nearby to hold on to, Januajima had no way to slow down. It didn't last long though, because the other fusion was already behind him.

-"You wanted to do something like this. Yeah?"- using the space in between them, Albatross took impulse with his hips and smacked him right on the base of his neck with a powerful spin kick -"No hands!"- he cackled.

-"Shit!"- the hit connected, but now it was the moment to counterattack. Powering through the pain, he whipped half of his body to at least partially cushion the fall, and attempted to make a mid-air fireman cartwheel. 

Grabbing a fistful of Albatross’ black shirt, Januajima had his arms around him while casting a partial spell that placed him above the other male. They were mere feet away from the ground, and it was impossible for Albatross to reach him now.

**Or was he?**

-”Ignite.”- the black-haired male said, his body instantly glowing with a threatening red aura.

 _-”He plans in blowing himself up so he can take us down too?!”_ \- Januajima immediately released his hold on his opponent, concentrating instead in a way to avoid being caught in the explosion. 

**But it never came.**

Albatross had said out loud “Ignite”, when in reality he had cast a “Flash” spell. 

Using this as a method to intimidate Janiajima, he took advantage of his momentaneous confusion to throat-punch him and let him take the hit for the fall while he rolled to the side. The was a loud boom when the fusion hit the ground, rattling all the way up to the castle and sending tremors around the foundation. FoyFoy quickly stepped next to Hime and pulled out his weapon in case debris were to fall upon them. 

-"You might have teletransportation skills. But I have two lifetimes worth of close combat strategies."- the ravenette said as he stood up, licking the cut on his lower lip -"And let me tell you, one of them don’t play fair.”- 

-"Janua!"- Mii-chan called out in concern -"That does it, I'm going to get him out of there!"-

-"Hold on...look!"- the blond princess pointed out -”He is still standing!”- 

Effectively, the fusion was still standing strong, the sleeves of his suit long gone and ragged to the point of no repair, with some steam poofing out of them. He was buried knees-deep into the earth, but he got out easily enough. He had blocked the brutal attack.

The size of the crater though was a clear indicator that the level of this spar had just risen several notches.

-"Interesting”- the red-haired man said, combing his bangs out of the way and revealing both of his crimson red eyes, a vein in between them the only telltale that he was incredibly pissed off -”Now the true match can begin, man.”-

-"Bring it!”- lifting both of his fists, Albatross laughed -”I’m all fired up!”-

Yet again they clashed, this time settling by a clean fistfight. At first, it started with regular punches and blocks.

-"Only a few days and you became like this...what did you guys do to get this strong?"- Samejanua casually asked as he landed a strike on his abdomen.

-"Who knows."- the fusion excused himself, his smile never flattering despite spitting some blood -"Focus in our battle!”- with those words, he jabbed the other man right on the lower part of his ribcage, making them bend over slightly.

From there, the fight began to favor Albatross, who seemed to be pulling energy out of thin air. He was probably burning his mana and transforming it on raw strength, but even then, the glee on his eyes was not disappearing. 

At one point, Januajima had to start casting defensive spells to prevent him from getting in contact with his chest entirely, For some reason, he seemed really interesting in crushing his ribs.

-” _Forget having even time to parry any of these. I can’t block them! His movements are not normal! To hit me this hard he must be receiving backlash, but I don’t see him relenting at all!”_ -

-”C’mon, c’mon, c’mon!”- accelerating his punches, Albatross demanded -“Show me what you got!”-

The red-haired man clenched his fists tighter, speeding up until they matched the other fusion's pace. To the naked eye, it was impossible to tell if they were using their two arms or if they developed new extremities. The blows were so powerful, even a graze if one of them was enough to cut through their skin and leave small indents.

-”Don’t get cocky, man!”- finally, one of his hits managed to make contact with his cheek, but instead of sending them to the opposite side, the ravenette stiffened his neck and forced himself to look at Januajima.

-”That’s... more... like it!”- with some difficulty, he faced his opponent. Even with the man’s fist fully plastered on his cheek, Albatross’ grin was still present. His red eye flickered dangerously - “Hit me again!”-

-"Woah!"- Hime muttered, leaning closer and trying to catch more of the action below -"He is not even flinching!"-

-”Legendary sadist _and_ masochist?!”- the cat yelled out with excitement -" I WANT TO FUSE WITH THEM TOO!"-

-”Mii-chan...your thoughts leaked out to reality.”- FoyFoy deadpanned with a ~~disgusted~~ worried expression as he picked him up by his red collar.

-”Amazing…”- Hime mumbled, her blue eyes trying to follow up their movements to no avail -”So this is the strength of fusion magic…”-

Finally, Albatross decided it was enough, and using his right feet he swiped it towards Januajima’s ankle, making him lose his balance. The unexpected pain made him look down for a second, a fraction of time that the ravenette used to his advantage.

Reeling a mana infused fist, he knocked the fusion onto the ground. It had been merely a slip-up, but that was all it took for the match to be decided.

-”Dammit!”- Januajima tried standing up, however, before he could move an inch half of his face was caked onto the mud, forced by Albatross’ heel.

-”It’s over.”- the raven said with a dark smirk.

Of course, he had to emulate the exact same scene to patch up his wounded ego, and then add some more. The inner sadist in him was slipping through, but if Alba was allowing it, then they must have _really_ pissed them off before.

-”...I...surrender.”- the red-haired male finally said through gritted teeth.

Satisfied, the raven removed his boot with a swift move. Albatross then extended his right hand to help them to stand up. The other fusion stared at them for a little bit before finally accepting the gesture. When their hands clasped together, it was with a loud smack.

-”Thank you, Januajima.”- and he truly meant those words.

-“Heh. See you another time, Albatross.”- 

A poof of dark smoke and both of the soul belt pieces dropped to the ground.

-"That was pretty impressive."- Samejima said to no one in particular, crossing arms over his chest -”This is the first time I’m defeated in such an overwhelming way. Guess this means we have room to improve, Janua.”-

The ninja nodded with a soft smile, trying to dust himself off. From the gates of the castle, their friends were already running towards them, Mii-chan at the front waving his paws frantically. Whether he was trying to reach his best friend to make sure he was okay or because he yearned Albatross' heel digging on his tender flesh was uncertain.

Turning back towards the fusion, Janua inquired -"I think it's a good time to wash up and grab something to eat, degozaru. You want to tag along?"-

-"Yeah. I feel like having something sweet and sour!"- he replied with enthusiasm. Him and Samejima were already walking away, making idle chat, when the ninja asked in confusion -"Hum. Albatross- kun, aren't you going to unfuse?"-

The boy glanced at the pure blue sky for a little bit as he pondered how to reply to that question. The answer deep inside his core was akin to two people shaking their heads. 

_"I don't want to let go just yet"_ was the message he got from them.

-"...I think I want to stay like this for a bit longer."- the ravenette finally said, flashing them a bright grin as he placed both hands behind his neck -"I feel so warm inside right now!"-

**Author's Note:**

> Back at the Demon Lord's Castle, a little girl with bright bubble gum hair squealed in delight. 
> 
> Reflected on her crystal ball, the smiling face of Albatross clearly visible.
> 
> -"My boys are growing up!"- she said, wiping away a stray tear -"Isn't this great, Lym?"-
> 
> -"What are you, their mother?"- the other one replied, not bothering looking away from her pudding cup.


End file.
